New Bruckner Documentary will be airing on Tuesday November 9th:
Sky Arts, Tuesday 9pm Anton Bruckner: The Making of a Giant (2020)
Sky Arts, Tuesday 9pm Anton Bruckner: The Making of a Giant (2020)
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That’s a first . I’ve never seen a doc on Bruckner on television.Originally posted by Boilk View Post -
There have been very few.... Ken Russell had a go with his docu-drama... which didn't impress me much. Still around if you want to try it, but...Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View Post
Bruckner wouldn't have liked being called a "giant" of course... such a brave, noble and humble man. It doesn't seem apt.
The Sky effort looks interesting if only for its rarity. Can't find much out about it yet....... all depends on the treatment of course...thanks B for the highlighting....
OK, so its made by "musicologist Reiner Moritz" who I haven't come across before, so we'll see. The RT blurb describes the music as "monumental"... here we go again etc...with "contributions from eminent fans" ...so a bit like those recent BBC2 film on 80s pop, then. (Which were great, actually!).
But to its credit it also mentions "formal brilliance" which I would certainly concur with!
(What with the return of Dexter, a better week on Sky...)Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 07-11-21, 14:59.Comment
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Although I am an admirer of much of Russell’s work (e.g. the magnificent Song Of Summer - possibly the best film I have ever seen about a composer ) I hope the Bruckner film was not the occasion of an unseemly investigation into Bruckner’s sex life - or what we know of it ?Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View Post
Looking him up on IMDb Moritz has a string of music doc credits including Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii and the Grimaud Living With Wolves doc…Comment
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Completely ot…We we’re at Pompeii a few years ago, and the guide said that when Floyd played there they were asked to lower their usual concert level volume due to concerns about the vibrations damaging structures. Vesuvius erupting is one think, but a rock band…Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View PostComment
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I saw the Pompeii doc - tedious and over - directed.Originally posted by richardfinegold View PostComment
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It was. Mostly.Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View Post"The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard HaitinkComment
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Impressive, wasn't it? Serious, scholarly and evocative piece. Although it felt more like Part One of a potentially longer work....Originally posted by Boilk View Post
Breathtaking shots of Gergiev and the Munich Philharmonic performing the symphonies in the St. Florian Monastery.
The emphasis on Schubert - Bruckner's early familiarity with his music, and the profound influence upon him; and Gergiev (who was very eloquent throughout) saying how important it was to understand this - was very welcome. "You should never forget Schubert when you talk about Bruckner".
(Did the 3rd Symphony's opening really give Bruckner the idea of beginning its successors with a tremolo? Gergiev seems to think so... I'm not so sure...)
I loved the readings from the Neue Freie Presse of contemporary reviews of Bruckner premieres. Direct-to-camera, the urbane reader brought a lovely light, witty and ironic touch to the composer-portrait.
The final shots of Bruckner's sarcophagus, in the crypt of St. Florian before the amassed skulls (like a silent chorus from the beyond, or a chorus only Bruckner could hear), were very moving for this lifelong Brucknerian. I often imagine visiting there, wondering about my reaction as I enter... I think I would soon be on my knees before him.
.... I probably won't make it there now, but the music....the music, and the spirit within, is with me always...Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 10-11-21, 04:41.Comment
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To my mind there was an element of over-repetition in the format: the very welcome and fascinating Neue Freie Presse critiques following the precis of each symphony (I thought the reviews were going to get kinder with each symphony!) should have had the shot angles/background varied as they got a bit Groundhog Day-ish. And (Kent Nagano comment) did Bruckner really use the same orchestra as Mendelssohn (am thinking of the later symphonies)?Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View Post
Didn't know about Bruckner's sarcophagus...not sure I'd want lie there in that crypt with hundreds of skulls facing me from a few feet away!Comment
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As you say, jayne, very much lending the impression of an intro to a much longer series. Without the latter, I'm afraid this was mostly very partial skimp through the symphonies. Hardly saying anything much about each work, for the uninformed it amounted to little more than pontifications to the already converted.Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostComment
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Members of the choir, at a social (open air;summer) told me how, when on a choir tour of Austria, were "asked" by the MD to stop off at St Florian to visit Bruckner's resting place. They were then assembled to sing "Locus Iste", which they duly did from memory. At the time, they felt unsure and anxious - but in retrospect are delighted they did. We - they would have made a good sound - so hopefully he wouldn't be grieved to hear his creation performed in the last years of the 20th century.
That was before my time; after I joined we have performed the motets several times, or at least in different combinations, and the wind instrument version of the Mass in E. (The latter using substantially the same players (with others) in Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert.
And I can kick myself, I got sidetracked and missed the documtary last night. If anyone spots a repeat showing, can you post the details here please? (I will be looking out for it, also).Comment
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Well, when we reach the other side....we may perceive such a gathering very differently....!Originally posted by Boilk View Post
Mendelssohn's Leipzig Gewandhaus was one of the best in Europe, alongside the Vienna Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle and so on. Their constitution would have been quite similar to the VPO for the latter's Bruckner performances, but varied/augmented of course depending on the music performed...
I wish I knew the name of the man quoting the Neue Freie Presse. He did it so wittily & beautifully as I said (immaculate, seductively German-accented English) with a concerthall in the background.
Every time he reappeared I thought, "oh great, he's back".....his delivery compelled attention.
Easily the best film I've seen on TV or anywhere about Bruckner; I felt the narrative woven around the symphonic and choral excerpts, and the eloquence of Gergiev and Nagano, was informative and articulate. It may inspire new listeners.
Even if, "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"...so it goes.Comment
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Not as such, it being Sky Arts, for which a subscription is needed for repeat viewings, I understand. However, there are these BBC offerings, for anyone interested:Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View Post
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